When Paul got home yesterday we talked about whether we should take him to the vet. The final straw was when we pulled out the laser pointer to see if he was interested in that and he didn't even get out of his bed. Thankfully we decided to take him in early enough in the evening that our regular vet's office was still open and they told us that they would fit us in between other appointments.
At the vet Jif showed us again how bad he felt by not struggling at all against all the poking and prodding. When his temperature was taken he complained for a second and then just laid down on the table. That just about broke our hearts! After finding out that Jif's abdomen was painful the vet did a blood panel, urinalysis, and x-rays, as well as giving him some fluids. The final tentative diagnosis is pancreatitis, and we were basically just told that he needs to rest and recover. (And as if I needed any more proof that Jif is pretty much the sweetest cat ever, all the vet staff were talking about how nice he was, even in pain.)
We have buprenorphine for him and have fixed him up alone on the top floor so we can keep a closer eye on how much he eats and drinks and so he won't get hassled by the other cats. So far I haven't really noticed improvement. He might be a little bit more alert, but if anything it seems like he might be more stiff when he gets up after lying down for a long time. It is possible that I am just noticing it more now since I am watching him like a hawk though.
We are very worried, but hoping for the best. Last night I read some articles on pancreatitis and ultimately had to stop because I was freaking myself out. It feels like we aren't really doing anything to help, and that is killing me. At the same time though, I recognize that the best thing to heal the body is the body itself and cats are very hearty animals.
tl:dr I am stressing the fuck out because my baby is hurt and I don't know how to help! :(
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| Convalescent Jif |
